Century-old Auburn market closes

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, June 4, 2005

AUBURN - For the first time in more than 60 years, there's no one named Gromaski selling melons, pumpkins and tomatoes here. The family's century-old market, once a fruit stand, is no more.

Pear Grove Farm Market won't reopen this spring. Matt Gromaski, the third Gromaski generation to own the Auburn market, has just graduated from Central Michigan University with a history degree and has his sights set on Chicago and an eventual career teaching at the college level.

Pear Grove Farm Market, once called a fruit stand, actually dates to 1899, when Fred Horn owned it. William Gromaski bought it from Horn in 1943. William's son Ron took it over in 1969 and Ron's son Matt began operating it in 2001.

For most of its life, the market was 1.5 miles east on Midland Road from the current site at the intersection of Midland and Carter roads, where the Gromaskis moved it in 1978.

The farm originally had pear and apple trees but, in the 1940s, William took out the orchards and planted row crops. The Gromaskis bought cherries, apples, peaches and pears from farmers in the Ludington and Traverse City areas to sell to customers. Eventually, Pear Grove became a popular place where customers could pick their own tomatoes.

Ron and his wife, Bettie, lived on the farm and raised five children there. Each year they farmed more than 60 acres, starting to plant during the last weekend in April and finishing about June 5. They prayed - trying not to worry - about the weather.

To keep the land fertile, the Gromaskis rotated their crops and planted strips of rye that protected the honey rock melons, Ron said. Then the rye was plowed under, and that aerated the soil and gave it nutrients.

The special part about operating Pear Grove was the people, Ron said. Some customers came from "well up north" to pick tomatoes, and a few drove down from the U.P. to return there with a truckload of Pear Grove produce for themselves and their friends and neighbors, Bettie said. And when the market business was done for the year, the family moved to its winter place in Florida. The children transferred to Naples schools each year.

"The market was open seven days a week from 9 until 8, so we couldn't enjoy the summer months," Bettie said. That Florida time "was our summer," Ron added.

Starting in 2001, the Gromaskis began selling pieces of their land for subdivisions. One of those, which has a couple of houses nearly finished, is called Pear Grove Subdivision. Matt rented farmland so he could continue to grow food for his customers.

When Ron retired from the market, he knew it was in capable hands - Matt's.

"I helped him, but very little," Ron said. "Since he grew up on the farm, he knew how to do all the things. I was there for support."

Although the family members acknowledged the decision to close was a bittersweet one, Matt said he felt relieved because he no longer had to worry about weather, planting, insurance or taxes. The family still owns the property on which the market is located, and is seeking a buyer for it.